The chamber and choral
works recorded here span almost twenty
years of Ross Edwards’ composing career,
the earliest one being from 1978 (albeit
revised and expanded in 1990) and the
most recent from 1996. They thus provide
for a fair survey of his present output.
Most pieces here are fairly short, but
one should not consider Ross Edwards
as a miniaturist. Indeed, he also composed
several large-scale works such as the
marvellous violin concerto Maninyas
(1988), the Symphony No.1 "Da
Pacem" (1991) and the nocturne
for percussion and orchestra Yarrageh
(1989) – all three available on ABC
Classics 8.770007 – as well as a substantial
piano concerto (available on ABC Classics
426483-2). His output also includes
several orchestral works and – among
other – a Guitar Concerto, to name but
a few.

Some of Edwards’ early
works belong to what he describes as
his ‘sacred’ pieces, which does not
imply any real religious concern but
rather alludes to their meditative character.
In fact, these ‘sacred’ pieces are quite
often inspired by the Australian landscape
and nature. These include some piano
pieces such as Etymalong
(1984) and Kumari (1980)
as well as TheTower
of Remoteness (1978) for clarinet
and piano superbly played here by fellow-composer
Nigel Westlake. Another piece belonging
to that same period, although a quite
different one, is the ensemble piece
Laikan (1979) composed
for The Fires of London. In fact, the
dance-like and song-like quality of
much of the music in Laikan
already points towards the style of
what Edwards describes as his Maninya
pieces. The Maninya pieces are
often conceived as short diptychs alternating
a song-like movement and a livelier,
dance-like movement. Edwards composed
a series of five Maninya pieces
from 1981 to 1986 for various instrumental
combinations that culminated with the
beautifully lyrical violin concerto
Maninyas that I for one
consider as one of his finest achievements
so far. The Maninya pieces often
combine a joyous foot-stamping liveliness
(the sort of thing that Reich also achieves
in some of his works, such as the superb
Tehilim) and a more meditative,
almost trance-like lyricism. This is
clearly to be heard in the beautiful
Flower Songs for chorus
and percussion, actually a choral Maninya
that is one of the real gems in these
discs.

As I mentioned earlier
in this review, the earliest work recorded
here, Ecstatic Dances,
actually originates in a short flute
duet composed to mark Peter Sculthorpe’s
fiftieth birthday, that was later incorporated
into Ecstatic Dances (1990)
composed for the present flautist Geoffrey
Collins. This short Maninya in
all but the name also exists in several
versions : flute duet (heard on TP 126),
for viola and cello (heard on TP 051),
for two violins and for two violas,
whereas a string quartet version forms
the last movement of Enyato I
(1993).

Edwards composed four
works all sharing the title of Enyato
(meaning "contrast") : Enyato
I for string quartet (1993),
Enyato II for solo viola
(heard on TP 126), Enyato III
for orchestra (1995) and Enyato
IV for bass clarinet and percussion
(1995). So, again, Enyato II
composed for Patricia Pollett, is yet
another diptych made of a contemplative
slow movement and a livelier Maninya.

As I have already remarked,
Edwards’ music often displays a joyous
dance-like character, also to be heard
in the choral piece Dance Mantras
(1992) for chorus and drum setting a
few Latin words ("May the grace
of the Holy Spirit be with you"),
beginning in a rather subdued way but
progressively building-up to an assertive
conclusion. This short piece is also
devised in such a way, that it may be
sung by a small mixed chorus as well
as by a choir of 700 singers. The other
choral work here, however, is quite
different in mood and intent; and, as
such, something of a rarity in Edwards’
output. Ab Estatis Foribus
sets four texts from the well-known
manuscript of Benedictbeuren in Bavaria
(yes, the celebrated Carmina Burana)
and includes a setting of Prudentius’
famous Hymnus ante Somnum ("Hymn
before Sleep"). The composer admits
that these straightforward, tuneful
settings have an archaic quality and
"a strong element of pastiche"
(well, not so, to my mind). The end
result is an engaging choral sequence
that repays repeated hearings and deserves
wider exposure.

These discs fully demonstrate
Edwards’ mastery in handling some less
familiar instrumental combinations,
such as percussion quartet in Prelude
and Dragonfly Dance, marimba
in what has become one of his most popular
works Marimba Dances or
clarinet and percussion in the equally
attractive Binyang. Neither
is he afraid of writing solo pieces
for some unexpected instruments such
as shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flue)
in Raft Song at Sunrise
(a really fine piece, entirely his own
and without any attempt at mimicking
some Japanese music) and recorder in
the extremely short but delightful Ulpirra.

So, in short, this
survey of some of Edwards’ chamber and
choral music is most welcome. It perfectly
illustrates the often happy, unpretentious
music making of this endearing composer.
His music as heard here is perfectly
balanced and never outstays its welcome.
I enjoyed these discs enormously, and
I now hope that we will soon have a
recording of the Maninya series
and the Enyato series as well
as more of his orchestral music.

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